


Inky Sketches

by FireBallMadness



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Bendy is indecisive I guess, Haunting, OC is an art student, Post-Game, at least my interpretation of it, we don't exactly know how it ends lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 16:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12821478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireBallMadness/pseuds/FireBallMadness
Summary: A young art student gets a great idea - for his final project prepare a brand new "Bendy" animation, a cartoon that has been forgotten by time, using the same ink that created the little devil.Little does he know, that ink not only gave birth to an innocent children's character.Not a single drop of the dark liquid should have ever left the abandoned workshop.





	Inky Sketches

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, I knew I would fall into this hole from the moment I took an interest in BATIM, I didn't even try to resist it. What would have been the point?
> 
> Anyway, this idea has been circling inside my mind for awhile now, so I thought I should give it a try. Hope I won't fail miserably lmao

''You always tended to go overboard with such things. I'd appreciate it if you didn't drag me down with you every damn time, though.''

A young man besides the irritated girl rolled his eyes at the salty comment, for a second ceasing his careful surveillance of the area.

''Instead of complaining, you should be grateful that I sometimes make your dull life more interesting. Who doesn't like adventures!''

''If you call _breaking the law_ an adventure, then no, I am _not_ grateful. Gabriel, we could get seriously busted for this!''

''We won't. This place has been abandoned for _decades_ , Samantha, we won't find anyone here for miles,'' the boy sighed impatiently, already scanning the tall rusty fence for a way to get over it.

''What if... it's a den of drug addicts and other dangerous people _because_ no one would look there?'' her voice trembled a bit at the thought.

A soft chuckle escaped Gabriel's lips as a slightly crazed glint flashed across his eyes.

''No, I doubt that's the case. See, no one ever comes here because it's haunted. Now, Samantha, I think it's our lucky day - I found a hole.''

And just like that, he dashed towards his discovery, leaving his friend completely dumbfounded.

''Wait, what?''

Gabriel didn't even manage to reach the torn wire fence before a rather large branch hit the back his head. The poor lad hissed in pain loudly, instinctively grabbing the hurt area.

''Ow, that hurt, idiot!''

''You can't just state something like _that_ and run off!'' Samantha exclaimed. '''What the hell do you mean it's haunted?!''

''God, you are insufferable,'' he muttered under his breath, turning back to the fuming girl. ''Calm the hell down, it's _supposedly_ haunted, damn. Enough to keep the weak-minded away, not enough to stop me when I'm on fire.''

''Have you forgotten that I'm here as well? I have no interest to wander around such a place! I can't even watch horror movies for God's sake!''

''Listen, woman, we won't be there for long, alright?'' Gabriel sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. That branch really did hurt him. ''Look, you won't even need to go in if you don't want to. You'd just need to guard the door. I'll be out in no time.''

''You sound quite sure that it won't be locked,'' Samantha murmured, still rather on edge, as she finally decided to follow Gabriel through the hole. If she wouldn't need to go in, she was fine with it.

''Well, I'm hoping for it anyway.''

There were a few moments of silence between the pair, they just quietly strolled towards the old building.

''Say... How did you even find out about this place? And why do you say it's haunted?'' the girl finally asked, curiosity overpowering her.

''I've told you about my project for my final exam, right?''

''Right. You mentioned animation.''

''Yeah, thought I'd make my job more interesting for everyone, not just myself,'' Gabriel lightly laughed.

''But is that even allowed?''

''As long as it's traditionally drawn, I see no problem.''

''You're gonna make a _hand-drawn animation_?'' Samantha sounded quite taken aback. ''Weird.''

''Anyway,'' he chose to ignore that last comment. ''Because of that, I thought I should do some research on the older animations, you know. Disney, Fleischer, things like that. And at some point I came across a certain studio that caught my attention. Have you ever heard of a cartoon named '' _Bendy''_?''

''I don't think so..?''

''Yeah, well, it's quite old, and it only had around twenty episodes, out of which nowadays you can only find a few. Quite Disney-styled, but has this... weirdly unnerving undertone.''

''Why would you take an interest in such an unknown show?..''

At that point they had reached the main entrance and Gabriel, without wasting a second, grabbed the doorknob.

''It really is our lucky day!''

The old door opened easily, albeit creaking loudly.

''Jeez, it sounds so creepy...'' Samantha shivered. ''Anyway, you didn't answer my question.''

''Well, my dear, you see, there is quite an interesting story behind the innocent cartoon's scenes,'' Gabriel turned back to her, a small grin on his lips. ''One day, many decades ago, all of the studio's cast just disappeared. According to some with-great-difficulty-found records, they never returned from work. To this day no one knows what happened. Some curious lil' adventurers sometimes dropped by to investigate on their own, but over the years those visits disappeared, since chilling stories began emerging, successfully stopping anyone from wandering where they shouldn't. Once in awhile some dumb teenagers would dare each other to go in I suppose, but that happens very rarely. This story has become an urban legend at this point, even if not widely known.''

''But I suppose you don't consider yourself belonging to that category?'' Samantha asked skeptically, rising her eyebrows.

''Of course not, because finding ghosts isn't my goal.''

''What is it, then?''

''I'll show you later,'' Gabriel winked at her and opened the door wider. ''Jeez, it's really dark in there.''

''...Yeah, I'll just stay here.''

''Fine. Make sure to keep the door open, then,'' the lad warned her, taking out his phone and turning on the flashlight.

''...Why, exactly?''

''Just in case it's really haunted. I would not exactly enjoy being locked in, you know,'' Gabriel shrugged. ''Like in some cheesy horror movie.''

''I thought you didn't believe in urban legends.''

''Hey, better safe than sorry.''

Without another word Gabriel ventured in, leaving a nervous Samantha behind.

As he had expected, the whole place was completely abandoned and rundown. Old, yellowed posters of the forgotten cartoon hung on the dark walls, the dirty floorboards creaked underneath the young man's feet, and, weirdly, black ink was splashed everywhere. He had read about this strange phenomenon in some of those stories, but it was a whole different deal to actually see it. The air reeked, not surprisingly, given that this place probably hasn't been cleaned or ventilated in years and the amount of spilled ink didn't exactly help as well. The whole building was, in short, in terrible condition.

It was nothing Gabriel couldn't deal with, though.

Even with those creepy cutouts of the old toon at every damn corner ( _who even needs this many?!_ ).

And that eerie silence.

And that terribly heavy atmosphere.

Alright, maybe Gabriel was _a little_ on edge. The further he went, the more that feeling that he was being watched grew. Obviously, he tried to shake it off. Those stories had to have _some_ base, so it was understandable why he felt this stiff. This was not, by any means, a nice and cozy place.

It was hard to believe someone used to work here.

Honestly speaking, Gabriel couldn't deny that he was greatly curious, despite his insides turning and twitching from that looming feeling. Something _had_ to had happen here all those years ago, but right now he didn't have the time to investigate. Maybe sometime later, when he wasn't with Samantha. Right now she would get worried if he took too long.

\---

It didn't take long for Gabriel to finish his business and return to his anxious companion. He could actually visibly see the relief on her face when he emerged into the daylight.

''You took longer than I expected,'' she muttered. ''I was beginning to worry.''

''Sorry, it's an interesting place, I wandered around for a bit,'' Gabriel chuckled sheepishly, shrugging. ''I kinda understand why people are scared of it, there surely is something eerie about it.''

''Tsk, right,'' Samantha crossed her arms. ''Did you at least found whatever you were looking for?''

''Yup!'' the young lad exclaimed happily, raising a small bottle of dark liquid.

It took the girl a few seconds to comprehend what he was implying.

''So you dragged me out there, violated several laws, wandered around a supposedly haunted place... for a bit of ink?''

Gabriel could already see where this was going, so he was quick to try to calm her.

'' _Yes_ , _but_ , this isn't just _any_ ink, it's the same kind that was used to draw the original _Bendy_ cartoons, _and_ since my art project idea is a new _Bendy_ animation, I figured it would only be appropriate and aesthetic to use the same ink, you know.''

A beat.

Another one.

''You are... seriously...'' Samantha breathed out, closing her eyes and placing her palms over them. ''Exasperating. Only _you_ would come up with something so... I don't even know...''

Gabriel could only shrug.

''Wait,'' the exhausted girl suddenly said, snapping back to her companion. ''You said you wanted to create a new _Bendy_ animation? Is that even allowed?..''

''Yeah, it's in the public domain by now. Don't worry, I checked, besides, no one would probably even know or recognize this silly cartoon.''

''But why do you even want to bring it back to life?''

''Heh, I wouldn't exactly call it that, it would just be one project, after all. But I do have my reasons. Maybe if you'll be good, I'll tell you someday.''

Samantha sighed heavily.

''...Whatever. You do... you, I guess.''

''Glad you understand,'' Gabriel winked at her.

The small bottle of ink was safely packed in his backpack.

 


End file.
